One of the new incentives set up by Okke Westdorp at Codarts Rotterdam is the series of department Open Days that began in January with brass and continued on 5 March with the Woodwind Open Day. It was a privilege to be involved in running this day which combined masterclasses by Juliette Hurel, Julien Hervé, Nancy Braithwaite and Pieter Nuytten with large ensemble playing under the direction of Wim Steinmann. Virtually all the woodwind players of the department took part with fine performances of Strauss’ early Suite (Op 4) and Serenade (Op 7), the Georg Schmitt arrangement of Beethoven 1 (edited by Martin Harlow) and Gounod’s Petite Symphonie. In addition, there was a concert of solos featuring Daphne Caffa (clarinet), Bénédicte Zeitoun (flute), Letizia Maulà (clarinet) and Friederike Bassek (English Horn) with accompaniment from Federico Mosquera. Visitors were able to play chamber music too and to join in the large ensembles. A true Open Day with a lot of good music-making.

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